HOW IHN WORKS
The overall goal and purpose of Family Promise is to provide children and their families with shelter, basic needs and assistance as they seek permanent housing. Family Promise is unique in that it does not split up families during their crisis. Dads and boys over the age of 10 are allowed to remain with their families, keeping the family unit strong.

IHN is also unique in that it is able to meet the emergency needs of the families we serve through the hard work of a small staff and over 1,600 volunteers. The majority of the work is provided through 14 Host Congregations (like Trinity Lutheran Church) and additional Support Congregations who house families in their facilities every night. All the evening activities of housing, feeding, encouraging and interacting with the children and families are conducted by volunteers. We are able to utilize existing community resources of the congregations to make every dollar count. The IHN program operates at less than 1/3 the average cost of most shelters!

During the day, families come to a “home base” which is our on-site Day Center, where they are busy taking care of family business. Through the use of our computer center, case managers, and mentors, they are able to access community resources to search for employment and housing. Key to their success is the fact that every family is connected to the community through volunteers at the congregations as well as through mentors in our Family Mentoring Program. Families are able to build a new community network that helps them achieve their goals of independence.